


It's a Long Story

by ThatOneAwkwardFangirl_Liz_Cecil



Series: it all works out in time [9]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Adults who can't adult, Didn't Know They Were Dating, Domestic Fluff, Drunken Confessions, First Dates, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Ukai is a bisexual disaster, but neither of them realized, i love these two so much, let them be pure, they're both so dumb someone help them
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-07-05
Packaged: 2020-05-15 16:11:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19299208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatOneAwkwardFangirl_Liz_Cecil/pseuds/ThatOneAwkwardFangirl_Liz_Cecil
Summary: “Ah, Take-chan, you know you can call me Keishin at this point in our relationship, right?” He wasn’t going to remember that in the morning.“Oh, um – alright, Keishin.”“You know, I think it’s all payback because I knew Shimada was in love with Takinoue, back in the day,” he rambled on. “I used to give himso much shit, ’n then when they finally start’d goin’ together, I didn’t let up. Now they’re gonna torment me every time I fall in love withanyone.” Hedefinitelywasn’t going to remember that in the morning.“Hah?” Takeda laughed awkwardly.Keishin didn’t hear him. “You should’ve heard them before you got here, Take-chan. All,how was your date with Sensei, and,what do you mean it wasn’t a date of course it was a date, and then you showed up and oh mygodthey just jumped on that.” He stumbled, and Takeda caught his hand to keep him steady.“Was it a date, Keishin?” Takeda asked, glancing up at him.“Hm? Was what a date?” Keishin replied, frowning. “What?”“What?”“I feel like I’m going to collapse.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! So, I couldn't make an elaborate, interconnected, post-canon fic series without including our adult disaster gays. I love these dorks, they're my favs, and I wanted to write them being cute and pure. So, here! Take them! And the story of how Ukai missed the memo that they were dating.

Keishin wasn’t sure when his relationship that he didn’t know he was in began, but according to his boyfriend of almost a year (almost a what?), it was probably around this day.

 

Keishin sat in his apartment, headphones on, rewatching the last match Karasuno played at Nationals. He had noted a hundred things that they did well, a hundred more that they'd done poorly, but he felt he could still learn more. He'd be facing a new team in just three short days when the school year started; he had to be ready.

Beside him, his friend and colleague Takeda Ittetsu sat with a folder open in his lap. Keishin tried to focus on his own work, but curiosity was getting the best of him. After all, it was still spring break, if only for a few days.

He took off his headphones and leaned over Takeda's shoulder, trying to make out the somewhat sloppy characters drawn before him.

A wave of mischief ran through him. “Take-chan!” he whispered directly into the older man's ear.

“Ah!” Takeda jumped. “Ukai-kun!”

He grinned. Usually, he tried to “behave” when they had nights like these, but sometimes his childlike boredom got the best of him. He liked to at least try to pass as the same age as his friend, but times like this, it was very obvious who was the elder.

“Watcha doing, Take-chan? Can't be grading papers already - it's still the break!” He rested his chin on the teacher's shoulder.

“Making my lesson plan, Ukai-kun,” Takeda replied patiently.

“ _Oh_.” He sat in silence for a moment, reading through the hasty notes. “Oof, they're gonna hate that book, Sensei.”

“Not how I teach it, I hope.” He set the folder down. “Are you finished watching the game back?”

“No,” he admitted, “but I am running out of new opinions about it.”

“Hmm. Maybe you should take a break, then.” Takeda picked his folder back up and turned a page.

“I am,” he pointed out. “All I do is work anymore. I need to do something else for once.” He sat back up.

“Oh, I'm sorry.” This time, Takeda closed his folder. “Should I leave, then? I didn't mean to bore you-!”

“No!” Keishin replied, probably too quickly. “All _you_ do is work, Sensei! I was trying – I thought that maybe – I mean, we could – we should do something!”

“Such as?”

Keishin hummed, running through some options in his head. “We could just drive until we find something?” he suggested.

Takeda nodded. “Sure. I don’t see why not.”

They walked together down to the parking lot, towards Keishin’s car.

“Uh-oh.” Keishin turned to face Takeda in embarrassment. “It appears we’ll have to take your car, Sensei.”

“Why’s that?”

“I – uh – I may have locked my keys in my car.”

Takeda blinked, a smile starting in his eyes before it found its way to his mouth. Once it arrived there, he laughed: a small chuckle at first before an all-out laughing fit.

“Ukai-kun, how have you managed to do that?”

“I’m working three jobs – I – ah! I must have been so tired this afternoon that I just forgot to grab them.”

“Should we – haha – should we call someone?”

Keishin sighed and shook his head. “I can take care of this in the morning. Shimada-kun has my spare keys.”

“Well, as long as you’ve got your house keys?” Keishin did. “We’ll take my car. Come on; let’s find something to do.”

 

The next morning, Shimada arrived with Keishin’s spare keys. He flashed them up at him, but then held them away.

“Don’t be an ass, Shimada; give me the keys.” Keishin grabbed for them.

“ _Not_ until you tell me how your date-” He jumped back and held the keys up higher. “-with Sensei went!”

“Wasn’t a date, and give those to me, _please_ , I’m going to be late to work!”

“You can walk, can’t you?”

“I’ve got a smoker’s lungs.”

“Whose fault is that?”

“Gimme the damn keys.”

“Where’d he take you, Ukai?” Shimada wasn’t backing down.

Keishin groaned. “We – we went to a fucking tea garden now _give me those._ ” He snatched the keys back. “Dammit. Why do I keep these with you anyways?”

“Because you do stupid shit like _this_.”

Keishin unlocked his car and retrieved his usual keys, tossing the spares back to Shimada. “Thank you.”

“Any time. How was _tea_?”

“It was a nice garden, I felt very out of place, and he wants to go back there for proper afternoon tea, and I’d thank you not to bring it up.”

“God, Takeda-san is such an angel, I swear. If you don’t make a move soon, I just might ask him out myself,” Shimada warned.

“Yeah, good luck explaining that to Takinoue.” Keishin rolled his eyes. “I’ve got to go.”

“We’re not done talking about this, you know?”

He got into his car. “Unfortunately.”

“Beers tonight with me and Takinoue.”

He closed the door. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll be there.”

 

“A _tea garden_ ,” Takinoue repeated, “and it…wasn’t a date?”

“No, we were just looking for something to do,” Keishin explained. “You know, two friends, driving around, and then he saw it and he said he’d been wanting to try it out so I said, oh then we should go, so we went.”

“And he took you home?”

“Obviously.” Keishin took a swig of beer. “He drove, remember?”

“Did he walk you to your door?” Shimada asked, leaning forward, chin on his hands.

“He was just making sure I didn’t leave my _house keys_ somewhere,” Keishin reasoned. “God, get a grip.”

Takinoue nodded, trying to stay serious, but he quickly crumbled into laughter. “And if you didn’t find them, you would’ve stayed with him, right?”

Keishin glared and threw a used napkin at him. “You guys are worse than my kids.”

“ _My kids_ , like you personally fathered and raised all twelve of them,” Shimada laughed. “I take credit for Yamaguchi-kun, though.”

Keishin rolled his eyes. “It wasn’t a date, alright.”

“But you wanted it to be one.” Takinoue’s tone suggested that he was just stating a fact, not posing a question, which ticked Keishin off to no end.

He was, of course, right, but Keishin would only admit that over his cold, dead body. These two had known him so long…there was just no way that he would even think about admitting either of them was right about anything.

“I’ll take your silence as a yes.” Suddenly, Takinoue’s face broke into a wide grin. “Ukai, turn around.”

“Eh?” Keishin spun on the barstool to see where Takinoue and Shimada were looking.

Takeda was walking in, smiling and waving at the three men sitting at the bar. “Ukai-kun, I didn’t know I’d see you here tonight!”

Keishin’s throat felt dry – he wasn’t sure how, but he was going to find a way to blame his friends for this – as he replied, “Ah, hey, Take-chan.”

“Take-chan?” Shimada repeated with a snort. “I forgot about your pet names for the sensei. Hey, Sensei!”

“Hi!” Takeda replied, a bright smile overtaking his face. “Is it alright if I sit here? I don’t want to intrude.”

“You’re not intruding,” Keishin promised. “I’m practically a third-wheel here anyways. That’s what I get for only making one new friend since high school, I s’pose.”

“Haha! Do you mean me?” Takeda asked.

Keishin turned red and stared at his nearly empty drink in lieu of responding.

“Come on and join us, Sensei,” Takinoue insisted. “It’ll be like a double da–” Keishin elbowed him in the ribs to make him shut up.

Takeda sat on the barstool beside Ukai. “Can I buy you a drink – I mean, your next drink – I mean –” His face went red as he tried to think of the best way to say what he meant, even if Ukai understood. “Next round’s on me?”

“You’re an angel, Takeda-sensei,” Takinoue declared.

Takeda smiled at him, seeming to be lost for a response. Then, he turned back to Ukai. “Ukai-kun, did you get your car keys back?”

Keishin nodded. “Yeah, Shimada brought them by before I went to work this morning.”

“Ukai was _just_ telling us about your night at the tea garden,” Shimada interrupted, “but you know how he can be with details. How was it? We might go there for our next date night.”

_Subtle,_ Keishin thought with a snort. He sent Shimada a questioning look, but his friend didn’t make eye contact.

“It was lovely – not sure that it’s your kind of place,” Takeda added. “But the setting is quite romantic in the evening! So, for a date night, you might like it! They have wonderful cakes.”

“Romantic setting, hm,” Takinoue repeated, but he was looking at Keishin. “See, that’s a detail that Ukai left out.”

“Does that surprise you?” Takeda pointed out with a laugh. “Oh!” He turned to the bartender. “Can I get us each a beer please?”

“Oi, what do you mean by that?” Keishin asked, frowning.

“I’m just saying, you don’t seem the type to notice if a setting is romantic or not,” Takeda explained. The tilt of his head and light in his eyes betrayed that he was teasing Keishin, but Keishin was embarrassed all the same.

“I can recognize romance,” he grumbled.

“Sure you can, Keishin,” Shimada laughed.

The bartender set down their mugs of beer, and Keishin took his, eagerly drinking down about half of it at once. This was going to be a long night.

He slouched into himself as he listened to Takeda recount the previous night’s events in much more detail that Keishin ever would have shared. His friends’ teasing jibes were really starting to get to him, and he went through five beers just trying to avoid responding to any of it.

_I feel like a damn teenager with a hopeless crush,_ he groaned internally. _This is so fucking stupid._

He started to order another, but Takeda stepped in and said, “Just a water,” instead.

“Ah, Sensei, I’m not that bad,” Keishin argued, too tipsy to be embarrassed by the fact he was certainly pouting.

Shimada laughed. “No, I think Sensei’s onto something here. Drink water, then have Takeda bring you home, eh?”

 

“They’re insufferable,” Keishin slurred as Takeda walked him home. “Absolute jerks, the both of them.”

Takeda chuckled and held his arm. “Of course, Ukai-kun.”

“Ah, Take-chan, you know you can call me Keishin at this point in our relationship, right?” He wasn’t going to remember that in the morning.

“Oh, um – alright, _Keishin_.”

“You know, I think it’s all payback because I knew Shimada was in love with Takinoue, back in the day,” he rambled on. “I used to give him _so much shit_ , ’n then when they finally start’d goin’ together, I didn’t let up. Now they’re gonna torment me every time I fall in love with _anyone_.” He _definitely_ wasn’t going to remember _that_ in the morning.

“Hah?” Takeda laughed awkwardly.

Keishin didn’t hear him. “You should’ve _heard them_ before you got here, Take-chan. All, _how was your date with Sensei_ , and, _what do you mean it wasn’t a date of course it was a date_ , and then you showed up and oh my _god_ they just jumped on that.” He stumbled, and Takeda caught his hand to keep him steady.

“Was it a date, Keishin?” Takeda asked, glancing up at him.

“Hm? Was what a date?” Keishin replied, frowning. “What?”

“What?”

“I feel like I’m going to collapse.”

Takeda sighed and tugged his hand. “We can stay at my place; it’s closer.”

“Mm, thank you, Sensei,” Keishin mumbled, leaning against the teacher and nuzzling his hair. “You’re an angel. I know my friends already told you that, but, you know, emphasis.”

“Alright, Keishin. I’ll pull out some blankets to get you comfortable on the couch, okay?”

“Soun’s good.”

 

When Keishin woke up, it was to a pounding headache and waves of nausea. He started to open his eyes, then immediately squeezed them back shut to block out the light.

“Shit,” he whispered to himself. He drank so much, so fast last night that he didn’t remember much past the third beer.

“Ah, Keishin?” came an uncertain voice from above him.

He jolted, eyes flying open as he looked up into the big brown eyes of Sensei. “Takeda-sensei?”

_Wait, why did he just use my given name? Why am I here? Am I wearing pants?_ He did a quick take down of his present state: he was wearing pants. _Okay, where am I? Sensei’s couch. Of course. He lives closer, and I was probably too drunk. He was worried. God, he’s such a good man. Wait, but that doesn’t answer–_

“Do you need coffee? Tea? Water? Aspirin?” Takeda offered, kneeling beside the couch. “You seem a little dazed still.”

“Bad hangover,” he muttered, rubbing his temples. “Five beers are usually fine.”

“Yes, but you drank them all in the space of an hour,” Takeda reasoned, giving a tiny laugh. “What do you remember, Keishin?”

“My friends being dicks,” he replied. “Why do you keep calling me that?”

“It’s your name,” Sensei offered, “and you told me to.”

Keishin felt his face heat up and rolled onto his stomach to hide it. “Sorry ’bout that, Sensei.”

“You can call me Ittetsu, if you like?”

“Itte– I don’t think I can,” he admitted miserably. “But you – you can still call me Keishin. If you want. Sorry. What else did I say?”

“I’m not going to lie; I didn’t catch most of it,” Takeda laughed. “But there was a lot of complaining about your friends.”

“Sorry if they were teasing you,” he mumbled.

“I can hold my own, Keishin.” Takeda rubbed his back comfortingly. “But do you need anything?”

“Coffee,” he decided, sitting up. “Thank you.”

“Sure.” Takeda ruffled his hair, still oddly affectionate, and Keishin watched him go.

_What the hell happened last night?_


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takeda and Ukai go on another date-that's-not-a-date-except-it-totally-is

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> they're grown men but they're so fucking stupid. someone help them, please

Keishin had never hated anyone more than he hated Shimada right then. Standing at the checkout, howling with laughter at him – in Keishin’s own store!

“So–” Before Shimada could finish, he started laughing again. “You mean to tell me, you drunkenly asked Sensei to call you _Keishin_ , and–” He leaned on the counter for support. “You’re a wreck, Ukai!”

Keishin growled at him. “Thanks for reminding me.”

“He didn’t ask you to call him – whatever his given name is?” Shimada asked, stifling his laughter.

Keishin pouted. “He… _did_. But I’m not going to!”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s stupid!”

“Is it stupid, or are you embarrassed?”

“Would you just let me _live_ , Shimada, you jackass?” Keishin narrowed his eyes at him.

Shimada held up his hands in surrender. “Alright, alright. This isn’t over, though. You need to start addressing your _feelings_.”

The door jingled, announcing the arrival of a customer – or, nope. Just his luck. It was Takeda.

“Take-chan,” he greeted, voice cracking like a damned teenager. “What can I do for ya?”

Shimada’s shoulders trembled with poorly hidden laughter.

“Oh, ah, actually!” Takeda, held out a box. “I brought you lunch. You didn’t eat much this morning, and I feel a little guilty for that.”

“Not your fault I was hungover,” Keishin argued. “But thank you. We could – er – well, we can eat together, if you want. Or whatever.”

Takeda lit up like a damn Christmas tree, so bright Keishin had to look away. “I’d like that, Keishin!”

“You can head in the back if ya want. I’m just waiting for Azumane to get here for his shift so I can take my break.”

“Alright!” Takeda chirped, finding his way to the back.

Keishin held his burning face in his hands. “He’s going to send me into cardiac arrest.” He reached for his cigarettes before Shimada’s hand caught his wrist.

“Come on, you’ve been trying not to smoke so much,” Shimada chided.

“I’m stressed.”

“You wanna die of cancer? Fine, go right on ahead. The only thing I’ll be saying at your funeral is _I told you so_.”

Keishin glared at him, but threw the cigarettes on the counter and instead went to grab gum.

“You’re about to eat with Sensei.”

“ _Dammit_ ,” he hissed.

The door jingled again, this time announcing Asahi’s arrival.

“Hey, Coach,” he called with a wave.

“Azumane,” Keishin replied. “You know what to do.”

“Yep!”

Keishin smiled, just a little to himself. It was nice to hear Asahi sound so certain about something, even if it was just as simple as _starting his shift at the store_.

He headed in the back to find Takeda had set up two plates of food on the breakroom table.

“Ah, thank you, Sensei.” He smiled, a little awkwardly, and sat across from him.

Takeda’s brows were knit, and he opened his mouth to speak before closing it and shaking his head.

“Take-chan?”

“You’ve seemed uncomfortable all day,” Takeda noted quietly. “And…I just…did I do something?”

“No!” Keishin assured him. “Not at all.”

“Because, some of what you said last night, it’s alright if you’d like to take it back–”

“No,” Keishin interrupted. “I – ah – didn’t mean to _say it_ , but if…you don’t mind, then…I mean, I’m fine with it.”

“Just – fine?”

 _Jeez, he’s sure in a twist about being allowed to use my given name._ “More than fine. I – uh – like it. I’m just…” He scratched the back of his head. “Embarrassed? I know that’s stupid, I’m a grown man, but it’s – uh – well, the truth.”

Takeda’s look of concern faded into what could now be interpreted as fondness. “Ah, I understand. I was a bit embarrassed at first myself, so it’s completely understandable!”

Keishin still had yet to piece together everything that had happened the previous night, but at least he and Takeda seemed to be on the same page now. Takeda seemed relieved as he dug into his lunch, and Keishin felt a little lighter as well.

“And – I’m sorry,” Keishin mumbled in addition, “that I can’t call you – well, you know – Itt– I really am sorry.” He stared at the table.

Takeda reached across the table and squeezed his arm lightly. “That’s okay. Whenever you’re ready.”

Keishin looked up, wondering why Takeda looked so serious and soft in that moment, but he decided it probably didn’t matter.

 

Morning practice came early, as always, but Keishin was long used to that. He was relieved to see that Ennoshita and Tanaka were already planning and organizing for the upcoming season (read: Ennoshita was planning and organizing, while Tanaka sat next to him and fondly watched). It was good to see he would be working once again with a competent captain/vice-captain duo.

He stayed at the shop just long enough to make sure Michimiya came in for her second shift on time (she did), and left her in his mother’s care.

“If you have any questions, ka-san will have the answers, alright, Michimiya-chan?” Keishin said as he grabbed his keys on the way out.

“Yes! Thank you, Coach Ukai! And by the way, I usually just go by Yui,” she added.

“I’ll remember that,” he said, and then he was off.

Once he walked into the Karasuno parking lot, he noticed someone beside him.

“Oh, hello, Take-chan,” he greeted.

“Hey, Ukai-kun,” Takeda replied, smile bright. “Sorry to go back to formalities, but it’s a small town, and teachers love to talk.”

“Don’t worry about it, Sensei,” Keishin assured him, bumping him lightly with his arm. “This morning is just the new third-years, right?”

“Yep! Even though the captain and vice-captain rolls are taken, I think it would be good for the other three of them to take on a more active role with helping the first-years. It’ll be a great help to both us and Ennoshita-kun.”

Keishin hummed in agreement.

“Oh, are you working the shop tonight?” Takeda asked.

“Not tonight, why?”

“I was wondering if you wanted to grab dinner.”

Keishin almost tripped on his way into the gym. “I – yes! Of course.”

“Alright, great!”

 

Afternoon practice was much more eventful.

The first-years were already proving to be a handful: Yoshioka was following Tsukishima around like a lost puppy, Sakai started blushing and sweating any time Nishinoya so much as looked at him, and Aoki seemed equal parts excited and terrified to be mentored by Kageyama. Ennoshita seemed to be working double-time on keeping Tanaka in line.

The only things that gave Keishin an inkling of peace were seeing Yamaguchi practice his float serves, and seeing Hinata working with Kinoshita and Narita on receives.

“They’re full of new energy,” Takeda noted, sitting a little closer than usual to Keishin on the bench. “I think they’ll shape up into a great team, when the new cogs click.”

Keishin hummed in acknowledgment.

“They seem to be passionate,” Takeda continued. “This year’s team is in good hands.”

“It’s different,” Keishin sighed before he could think against it.

“Yes,” Takeda agreed. “However, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. You know, one year, we’ll have a team where there’s not a single student from the first year.”

“I know,” Keishin said. “You think they’ll still be a National-level team?”

Takeda smiled softly – the kind of smile that made you believe everything would be okay. “Yes. I think with you as a coach, and with the Karasuno legacy to uphold, yes.”

 

“So, this one’s a date, then, right?” Takinoue asked, handing Keishin a button-down shirt.

“No!” he grumbled. “It’s never a date. You know this. Why are you tormenting me?”

“It’s fun,” Takinoue said with a shrug. “Which earrings are you wearing?”

“I haven’t decided yet.” Keishin buttoned up the shirt. “This is stupid. I feel like a teenager again, and you know how those dates went.”

Takinoue’s expression softened. “Takeda-sensei’s better than that. And this isn’t technically a date. It’s two coworkers and friends, sharing a meal. You don’t even know if Sensei’s gay.”

 _Oh shit, he’s right._ “I don’t know…if that’s better or worse.”

Takinoue pat his shoulder. “You’ll figure it out. Just stop stressing out, because that won’t help you.”

“I’m an _adult_ ,” Keishin groaned. “I should have grown out of crushes, don’t you think?”

“Nah. I’ve still got a crush on Shimada,” Takinoue said with a grin.

“Okay. That’s it. Get out of my apartment.”

Takinoue laughed and leaned against the wall. “You can’t get rid of me that easy, Ukai!”

“You know your boyfriend laughed his ass off when I told him about waking up on Takeda’s couch?”

“I did too,” Takinoue pointed out. “I mean, you _actually_ told him to call you by your given name?”

“I was drunk!”

“Is it embarrassing?”

“It’s fine.”

“Aw, Ukai, you’re blushing.”

“I’m a grown man! I don’t blush!”

Their bickering was interrupted by a knock at the door.

“That’s him,” Keishin whispered.

“Then answer the door, useless gay!”

“I’ll have you know, I’m a useless _bisexual_!” Keishin shouted over his shoulder before he unlocked the door. Then, it hit him. _He totally heard that._

He opened the door slowly, revealing an amused Takeda. “Um, hello, Keishin.”

“Takinoue is still here,” Keishin explained, gesturing behind him.

“I can see.”

“I didn’t mean for you to hear that.”

“That’s alright.” Takeda’s eyes twinkled with laughter behind his glasses. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yes,” he said, almost collapsing from the awkwardness. “Takinoue, I’m sure your boyfriend misses you.”

“I’ll be going,” Takinoue said, moving past the two of them. “Nice seeing you, Takeda-sensei.”

“You too, Takinoue-kun,” Takeda replied cheerfully. “Shall we go?”

“Yes,” Keishin said, locking the door and following Takeda to the car.

“You left your hair down,” Takeda noted.

Keishin instinctively reached up to his hair. _Shit. Forgot to tie it up again._

“It looks really good!” Takeda assured him, throwing a bright smile over his shoulder.

God, Keishin was melting here. The man was unfairly cute.

“Thank you,” he said gruffly, pretending he wasn’t blushing all over again. _How embarrassing._

“Dinner’s on me tonight, okay?” Takeda said, opening Keishin’s door for him.

“Ah, Sensei–”

“You can take the next one,” Takeda assured him before getting in the driver’s side.

“Alright, fine then,” Keishin sighed.

They fell into easy conversation about their days before discussing the new team and excitement for the upcoming year.

When they reached the restaurant, Takeda opened Keishin’s door for him again.

“Oh! And I almost forgot, we’ve got an invite to the Tokyo training camp in a month from now, just before Golden Week. Obviously, we’ll have our own training camp then, but Nekoma won’t be able to make it due to plans with other schools.”

“I’ll put that on my calendar, then,” Keishin said. “When’s the Miyagi training camp?”

“A couple weeks after that, I believe. We’ll be seeing Aoba Johsai, Dateko, Shiratorizawa, Johzenji, and a few other schools.”

“We’ll have to send out an email to the students for that.”

Takeda nodded. “I’ve already arranged transportation plans for both camps!”

“Thank you, Take-chan. You’re always on top of these things. We’d be such a disorganized disaster without you.”

Takeda smiled up at him. “Well, maybe a little.”

Keishin opened the door for him, then followed him in.

“Table for two?” Takeda requested.

“Right this way,” the hostess replied, leading them to a table.

Once they were seated, Keishin glanced at the menu. “This isn’t exactly cheap, is it,” he noted.

“It’s not so bad,” Takeda assured him. “Don’t worry.”

Keishin figured he would probably order something inexpensive anyhow. “So…how were classes?”

“As hectic as you can expect from the first day of school,” Takeda said. “They’re a good bunch of students though, I think.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Takeda hummed in agreement. “How’s the store?”

“Same as ever,” Keishin replied. “Hired a couple of Karasuno’s recent graduates. I know you know about Azumane, but I also hired the former captain of the girls’ team, Michimiya? They’re both pretty hardworking.”

“Your hair really does look nice like this,” Takeda blurted out before looking away. “I, um. Like it.”

“It was an accident,” Keishin admitted. “Lost track of time and never got around to pulling it back up.”

“It’s gotten a lot longer,” Takeda noted, voice shrinking with shyness.

“I don’t have time to get a haircut,” Keishin laughed. “Thank you, by the way.”

“Yeah.” Takeda cleared his throat. “So, um, do you know what you’re going to order?”

“I have an idea…”

 

Takeda walked Keishin up to his door at the end of the night, just like he had with the tea garden.

“I’d invite you in for a beer, but I guess it’s a school night, huh.”

“Another time, then,” Takeda said with a smile. Then, unexpectedly, he stepped forward and pulled Keishin into a hug. “I – um – thank you for tonight, I guess.”

Keishin awkwardly pat his back. “I don’t know why you’re thanking me. You drove and paid,” he laughed.

Takeda grinned sheepishly. “Alright, then you can thank _me_ by driving and paying next time.”

“And when might that be, Sensei?”

“How’s Friday?”

Keishin smiled. “I can do Friday.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow at practice, Keishin.”

Keishin’s heart was in his throat. “See you at practice, Take-chan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming up next: Takeda's POV! (I flipped a coin to see if I wanted his POV or not and it turns out, I did)
> 
> Follow me on [Twitter](https://www.twitter.com/lovingyachi) and scream with me about Haikyuu!! and other shit

**Author's Note:**

> I often think about how Takeda is one of the few teachers who can keep up with Nekomata while drinking...and Ukai is not. So. Take this. Please. Validate me in the comments😅
> 
> Follow me on [Twitter](https://www.twitter.com/lovingyachi) and scream with me about Haikyuu!! and other shit


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